Team New Zealand boss Grant Dalton has vowed to fight rival challengers in a bid to get two axed America's Cup courses back into play.
On Thursday, the Cup arbitration panel ruled that the two courses located near North Head and Takapuna Beach could only be used for just parts of the regatta, then they shouldn’t be used at all, backing the argument from Luna Rossa of “all or nothing.”
When the courses were announced, the two in question formed an essential part of Team New Zealand’s plans to deliver a regatta available to the public, syndicate head Dalton wants them back.
It's a tragedy at the moment that the Challenger of Record through Luna Rossa has been able to destroy the ability for the public to watch from the vantage point,” Dalton told NZME on Friday.
"This has always been our vision to have this and to showcase Auckland and New Zealand to the world on TV.
"So this organisation will move heaven and earth and already is talking to the council, ports of Auckland, the harbour master to see if we can change this.
Luna Rossa made the appeal amidst fears that the Kiwis would train on the courses planned for the America’s Cup match and Prada Cup final, while the challengers raced in the other three zones.
Luna Rossa has claimed that they only found out about the course situation in September, but that has been disputed.
Nick Hill, independent chair of the AC36 joint chief executive group, disputed that timeline, saying the courses were agreed by all parties including the challenger of record and defender in February, 2020.
"We’ve been clear that the parties need to work together to resolve these issues as quickly as possible," Hill says in a statement issued on Thursday.
"The uses of the courses and the parameters around their use were agreed to by all of the agencies, including the challenger of record representative and the defender in February."
"We expect to see an event where Aucklanders and visitors can share in the experience, an event that will showcase Auckland to the world, and we will work with the parties to help achieve that outcome.
The tension between Team New New Zealand and Luna Rossa seems to be escalating with Luna Rossa releasing a heated statement.
The attacks by Emirates Team New Zealand are intended solely at discrediting the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team with populist pretexts that tend to mask the attempt to gain an unfair advantage over the challengers who, we repeat, unanimously supported COR 36 by each lodging their own independent submission, a statement says.
One major issue is that a significant amount of money has been invested into the America’s Cup, with the assumption that Kiwi’s would get prime viewing.
That is now in serious doubt.
